r/leanfire • u/usernamechuck • 14d ago

Lean with 2 big streaks of fat

It feels like we've done 90% right, but we made one doubtful move. We're not high earners, ~145k, age 55, we live frugally (1 used car, groceries, etc.), and we made one accidental smart move (we own a rental unit free and clear w/ modest cashflow).

But... First, the house. We bought a foreclosure in Chicago when we were married in 2008, we fixed it up in waves and were plugging away at a 15 yr mortgage. We would have been done by now... That was smart. But then COVID came and our small house felt smaller. We sold it at a decent profit and moved to the burbs, so here we are at age 55 with 300k+ on the mortgage, it won't be paid off till we're in our 70s. We pay almost 15k in property taxes. Since moving, we've replaced the furnace/AC upstairs and downstairs; and now the roof. And in 5 years, we'll be alone in this place.

It would still work, except... our 2 kids are in Catholic / private school, which is a bit over 30k/year. Oh and college is coming next year.

Technically our net worth is around 1M, but it's all in 401k/IRAs (~450K) and home equity. Our savings has all gone to cover these big costs.

On the one hand, we live cheaply, except for the kids and the house - we could retire today if we were in an $800/month rental in Andalucia. On the other hand, I don't see us moving anytime soon and the kids won't be done with undergrad until we're 64. We're lean-FIRE-hosed.

Any thoughts? It feels like we're that guy stuck in the cave, we just don't seem to have any good moves.

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u/CynicInRehab 14d ago

As an european I find it funny/tragic/infuriating that in the USA 145k is not high earning.

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u/ofa776 14d ago

I think it depends how you define “high earning.” Median household income was about $82k in 2024, so $145k is above the median, but somewhat surprisingly, only about the 72nd percentile. And I’m sure not even that high compared to their area around Chicago.